Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jun 2015
Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Nanaimo Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608
Authors: Geordon Omand and Terry Pedwell
Page: A14
Referenced: Supreme Court Judgment (R. v. Smith): 
http://mapinc.org/url/d2dzMbjW

COURT REJECTS LIMITS ON WAYS TO USE POT

Ruling Allows Drug to Be Consumed With Range of Methods

A former cannabis club head baker at the centre of a Supreme Court of 
Canada ruling is both thrilled and relieved after the top court 
struck down limits on what constitutes legally acceptable medical 
marijuana products.

The court ruled unanimously on Thursday that medical marijuana can be 
legally consumed in a range of ways, from cannabis-infused cookies 
and brownies to cooking oils and teas.

"I think across the country there will be a lot more smiles and a lot 
less pain," said Owen Smith with the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, 
whose 2009 arrest was the focus of the decision.

Smith was charged after police found hundreds of pot cookies and 
cannabis-infused olive and grapeseed oils in his Victoria apartment. 
He was acquitted at trial and won an appeal.

The outpouring of gratitude since the ruling was handed down has been 
overwhelming, said Smith. He received a phone call from a mother who 
used cannabis-infused oil to treat her daughter's epilepsy.

"She was just overjoyed and in tears about the decision," he said. 
"It's been emotional, that's for sure."

Not only was it a unanimous 7-0 ruling, but the court made a point of 
attributing the written decision to the entire court - something the 
justices do when they want to underline a finding.

It was yet another rebuke of the Harper government's tough-on-crime agenda.

Until now, federal regulations stipulated that authorized users of 
physician-prescribed cannabis could only consume dried marijuana.

But limiting medical consumption to dried pot infringes on liberty 
protections under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the court said.

"The prohibition of non-dried forms of medical marijuana limits 
liberty and security of the person in a manner that is arbitrary and 
hence is not in accord with the principles of fundamental justice," 
said the written judgement.

The initial trial judge in Smith's case gave the federal government a 
year to change the laws around cannabis extracts, but the court said 
Thursday its ruling takes effect immediately.

Cheryl Rose, whose daughter Hayley takes cannabis for a severe form 
of epilepsy, said the 22-year-old's seizures have dropped dramatically.

Under the previous law, Hayley had to take 15 capsules of dried cannabis daily.

Now, she will only have to take one concentrated capsule made with oil.

"Without having extracts available for her, I don't think we'd be 
able to keep it up. It's way too much for a person to consume," she 
said. "She's finally going to fully have her life back."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom